nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

When using Perplexity, I get an error searching for files in different folders in my Dropbox account

JanBee

My Dropbox connector is Connected in Perplexity. searching for files in different existing folders always gives the status dropbox_mcp: unsupported and zero results. This also happens after re-linking and browser restarting.

what could be wrong? my perplexity subscription support this function and the files are downloaded on my computer

Find more posts tagged with

Third Party Integrations

Accepted answers

All comments

Mark

Who creates the link for this? Is it a Dropbox one or Perplexity?

If its Perplexity I'd ask them directly as they are the ones who've made the integration etc.

However, one thing to check first is you linked the right account - you should be able to see connected Apps in the Admin area.

AdamRykala

I have precisely the same issue with Dropbox

What we actually know is narrower: Dropbox shows as connected, but the file-search tool returned “unsupported” before it found or read either spelling of the filename. I don’t yet know why that route is unsupported here, and I shouldn’t imply the file or your setup is at fault.

Jay

Hi @JanBee, @AdamRykala, thanks for your messages.

Did you experience this behavior for the first time recently, or has it been an issue consistently?

Just for clarification, is Perplexity a website or an app, and how are you searching directly via this app?

If you can share any error messages, logs or OS/Dropbox specs, that'll help me narrow this down much faster.

AdamRykala

Only just tried it

Perplexity is an AI client a la ChatGPT etc - it has an official connector

The text i posted is the error Perplexity sees

Jay

As the message states that it's unsupported, it could be a message that the Dropbox API is sending to the Perplexity system.

I'd recommend contacting them to see if there's any troubleshooting they can provide to see why this message is appearing.

maher1982

Since two users are seeing the same dropbox_mcp: unsupported error while Dropbox shows as connected, this may point to the connector/search path rather than the individual files. Perplexity officially supports Dropbox file search, so “unsupported” doesn’t seem like expected behavior.

AdamRykala

Dropbox connector returns unsupported for file searches

I connected Dropbox to Perplexity while using the web app. Perplexity reports the Dropbox connection as CONNECTED. I created an Ultra folder in Dropbox with a small text test file called untitiled.txt.

When I asked Perplexity to find and read the file, it searched for untitiled.txt and untitiled Ultra. The file-search result was zero files, with the source status:

dropbox_mcp: unsupported

We also tried untitled.txt and Ultra in case the filename spelling was the issue. That returned the same unsupported status and zero files.

Perplexity did not reach the point of reading the file’s contents. There was no permission or confirmation prompt, and no file-specific error. The connector appeared connected, but its search route reported unsupported.

This was tested in the web app, not the Mac app. I’m not claiming the file is missing or that I know the cause; I’m reporting the connector status returned by both search attempts.

AdamRykala

Perplexity documents Dropbox file search as a supported feature, including through the web app, so unsupported is worth reporting as unexpected—not treating as a diagnosis of your Dropbox account.

https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/13060839-using-the-dropbox-connector#using-the-dropbox-connector

Jay

Thanks for the input. As this is the message that appeared twice, regardless of the spelling of the file, it might be best to check with Perplexity as to why the result returned was 'unsupported' after a search.

AdamRykala

If you use Perplexity's Upload files from Cloud feature, it does open a file picker window

AdamRykala

I think this is a dropbox issue, not a perplexity one. Its accessing the connector, Dropbox is reporting that its unsupported

Keith

Hi everyone, thanks for the reports. We’re looking into this now. I’ll update this thread as soon as I have more information to share.

Keith

Hi everyone, thanks for your patience while we worked with Perplexity on this. The issue should now be resolved.

Could you try searching your Dropbox files again and let us know if you’re still seeing the dropbox_mcp: unsupported error? Thanks.

AdamRykala

Perplexity prompt: On my Dropbox there is a folder called Ultra, and a file called untitled.txt. Can you find it, read it and write to it

Reply:
I can’t complete that test: Dropbox file search is still failing before it can locate Ultra/untitled.txt. The connector returned “File search encountered an error for this source” for both the exact filename and folder-plus-filename searches. [tool:search_files_v2]

Also, the connector currently exposes only the unified Files search capability—no Dropbox read or write tool has become available—so even if search succeeded, I could not safely read or update the file through this connection yet.

Result: Dropbox remains non-functional for this three-part test: locate → read → write.

Keith

Hi @AdamRykala, thanks. If you haven’t already, could you reconnect Dropbox, then try your prompt in a new Perplexity session? Let us know if you’re still seeing the issue. Thanks.

AdamRykala

Try to read the file called untitled.txt in the Ultra Folder

The Dropbox test returned no result: untitled.txt was not found in the Ultra folder. The Dropbox connector is connected, but it currently exposes no direct Dropbox tools, and the file-search bridge returned no matching file.

No file was read or modified.

can you read the folder list in Dropbox

I couldn’t read the Dropbox folder list. The Dropbox connector is shown as connected, but it exposes no direct Dropbox tools, and the file-search bridge returned no files or folders for the Ultra path.

So the result is empty or inaccessible, not confirmation that the folder itself is empty.

This was after disconnecting the connector and re-adding it

Keith

Thanks, I appreciate you testing that. We’ll take another look, and I’ll update this thread as soon as I have more information.

AdamRykala

As of today, the connector now seems to be working for me!